Narsil
Narsil was a longsword wielded by King Elendil during the War of the Last Alliance, and used by his son, Isildur, to cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand during the final battle of that war. It was later reforged into Andúril, and would become the sword of Aragorn II Elessar. History The sword was forged during the First Age by the famed Dwarven-smith Telchar of Nogrod; its knife mate was Angrist. Second Age War of the Last Alliance During the final battle between the Last Alliance and Mordor, Narsil broke into two pieces when Elendil and Gil-galad fought Sauron themselves and were slain. Taking up the handle-shard of Narsil after his father's defeat, Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, defeating him. Isildur took the shards home with him. Shortly before he was killed in the second year of the Third Age in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, the shards were rescued by Ohtar, squire of Isildur. He took them to Arnor, where they passed to the next king, Isildur's son, Valandil. Third Age The shards of Narsil were passed down as an heirloom by the heirs to the throne of Arnor among the Dúnedain of the North. The sword's last owner was Aragorn, son of Arathorn.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter II: "The Council of Elrond" War of the Ring Before the Fellowship of the Ring departed Rivendell on the Quest of the Ring, the shards of Narsil were reforged by the Elves into Andúril, which Aragorn carried into the battle of Gondor and the battle of the Black Gate of Mordor, which was fought so Frodo and Sam could throw the ring into the Cracks of Doom in Mount Doom. Etymology In Quenya, Narsil means "Red and white flame", from nár ("fire) and thil ("white flame").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 5: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies" It symbolizes the Sun and Moon, the "chief heavenly lights, as enemies of darkness".The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, 347 To Richard Jeffery Other versions of the legendarium In other writings, Narsil was named Branding, after it was reforged into Andúril.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 8: The War of the Ring, Part Three: Minas Tirith, IX: "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", Notes Portrayal in adaptations Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings In the The Lord of the Rings (1978 film) by Ralph Bakshi, Aragorn uses the sword, which still has the longer part of the blade attached to the hilt, as his primary weapon, before it is reforged. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy In the ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, Narsil was not broken in two but into several parts (which were kept at Rivendell), and is not reforged into Andúril until the third film. Aragorn uses an ordinary sword during the first two films. Prior to the third film, his attitude towards the sword is a mix of reverence and reluctance. On the one hand, he carefully replaces the hilt on its pedestal after Boromir carelessly lets it drop to the floor, but he is reluctant to claim possession of it, as it represents the kingship of Gondor. It is not until the third film that Arwen persuades Elrond to have the sword re-forged by the elves, and Elrond in turn persuades Aragorn to accept it, as the symbol of kingship with which he can command obedience from the Army of the Dead. coming upon the shards while in Rivendell]] In a scene from the extended version (which also appears in the book), Aragorn challenges Sauron by contacting him via the Palantír of Orthanc and showing him "the sword of Elendil" re-forged. Comedian Stephen Colbert owns the sword model used for Andúril as seen used by Aragorn. The Hobbit film trilogy Narsil briefly appears in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition. Translations References de:Narsil es:Narsil fr:Narsil-Anduril it:Narsil pl:Narsil ru:Нарсиль Category:Swords Category:Dwarven objects